[ChicagoSoul]

Have you tried puppy training classes? Its really helpful if you can find some reputable ones. Some of them also offer private in house training that focuses directly on your baby's issues.

Another good resource is your breeder. She might know your baby's personality well and she also might have enough expertise to help you.

I am by no means an expert, but just comparing to the behavior of my puppy, who is four months old, I can say that your problems are not breed related, but rather training and personality related, which means that they should be addressed based on your individual circumstances.

My puppy slept through the night completely separate from me (I am on the third floor, she is on the second in her own little bed, not playpen and not crate) since day three of her arrival at fourteen weeks.

Initially I purchased a playpen for her, put her little bed inside on one end and her wee wee pad on the other side of the playpen. For the whole night, I slept on the floor in the sleeping bag by her side. However, I've never took her out of her playpen at night. Initially, she wined slightly. However, I put my hand on the little window in the playpen so that she can smell it and see that I am near, and she went to sleep fine. She woke up three times this first night to check if I am by her side. Once she saw that I was there, she was totally fine and went back to sleep.

In the morning, she was really excited to be out of the playpen to play. I realized that she just does not like to be constrained at all. However, I felt it was still too early to live her alone. So, the second night, I placed her in her playpen again and put it on the third floor by my bed. Again, she did not like it initially, but I never took her out. Once she saw my hand on the playpen, she was fine sleeping alone.

By third night, I felt that she knows where I sleep. She also knew that I won't leave her alone. So, I left her on the second floor not constrained, which she loved. I put her toys by her bed on the rug. With respect to wee wee pads, I observed her behavior during the first two days closely and I saw the spot on the second floor where she would always go. So, I placed her wee wee pad there. It was in the corner of the room, relatively hidden. I guess they like it like that because, when I had a pad in the middle of the room not far from where she slept, she did not like it.

Anyway, it's been two weeks now. She sleeps completely alone, never cries, never wakes me up. She also uses her wee wee pad to pee very consistently. It's a little more complicated with pooping. She poops in three different places, including the pad, but we are working on it.

Some people on this forum suggested using a Purina Second Nature Litter box with a pad inside so that the pet knows that its place is different, i.e., enclosed, than the rug or the floor. I haven't had it initially. I just had a pad on the floor. I am trying it now to get her use it for pooping.

So, you can try my approach to sleeping. I think your baby just does not feel safe for some reason. Maybe it was left alone at breeder's place? Anyway, your baby needs to know that you won't abandon it.

With respect to barking, it is one of the problems that get routinely addresses at puppy classes. So, you might find them instrumental. With my puppy, she had never barked, not once during her four months of existence and she is super friendly and social. So, I think it is a socialization issue. Barking is a reflex. She must have learned that it is useful for protection. You helped her learn that it helps in her strive for survival, i.e., she is save when you are around and you come back each and every time she barks.